kinshuk sunilit aint no, dessert if therez no caek

Yesterday, I was invited to the Nokia Music Store India launch event – the Nokia Music Bootcamp. I have written about it here. I went to the event with fellow bloggers Honeytech, Praval, Gaurav Mishra, Sachin Khosla, and Abhijeet Mukherjee. Also met Sayantan Pal and Priyanka Sachar at the event. The event was a splendid experience, what with Nokia doing a new service launch, but more about the music band – advaita, that performed at the event. Advaita is coming up with their new album – grounded in space, and has made some amazing music. Their way of blending rock and folk is very new and fresh and the music feels soothing.Look up these guys, they are amazing.

What was more about the evening was the company of these bloggers – makes you realise how much more there is to learn and yet their friendly demeanour keeps you at ease. Abhijeet and I have had a small stint as co-bloggers during my authorship at the Make Use Of Directory. Meeting him was an old wish that finally came true. After all that I had heard about Honeytech, meeting him was a very different exeprience – energetic, wise, and young. And his affection for good music.

I look forward to meeting these guys and a many more bloggers and community people across the nation. Just realised there is so much more to learn :)

I guess, learning is a constant process, it keeps going on.

This Post was originally published in the Linux For You Magazine’s March 2009 Edition. Also available online.

Delhi’s first unconference on Mozilla technologies was a grand event with about a 100 campers who came together to share some Mozilla love on February 10. It was an event that attracted technologists and students, with Mozilla’s Seth Bindernagel and Arun Ranganathan around to discuss the future of the Web…

This Post was originally published in the Linux For You Magazine’s March 2009 Edition. Also available online.

MozillaCamp Delhi is being organised on February 10th, 2009 at the Indian Social Institute, Lodi Road New Delhi.

MozillaCamp Delhi
http://barcamp.org/MozillaCamp
February 10th, 2009 10am to 5pm
Indian Social Institute, near Sai Baba Mandir, Lodi Road

MozillaCamp Delhi will see web developers, designers, media and students coming together to celebrate emerging web technologies, localisation, internationalisation, and standardisation of web the Mozilla way.

Highligts of the event are:

• Discussion led by Seth Bindernagel, Director of Localisation (Mozilla)
• Discussion led by Arun Ranganathan, Standards Evangelist (Mozilla)
• A Talk by Mozilla Labs on Open-Web Development (through conferencing)
• An open Hack session led by Mozilla Labs through Conferencing.
• The event will also be live streamed on Mozilla AIR.

Registerations are beign made at the Barcamp wiki (link mentioned above) and if you use any Mozilla Toolie or are a Mozilla Loyalist, you wouldn’t want to miss the event. Over 80 regsiterations have been made. We know teh event is on tuesday but since Seth and Arun will be in Delhi only on Tuesday, so we cant be flexible about it.

Mohak has been doing a lot of hard work for organising the event. I have done my best to aide him. My company (OSSCube) has gladly sponsored us and is meetign all the expenses of the camp.

Organising and Sponsorship details include:
Unorganisers (its an unconference afterall!): Mohak Prince and Kinshuk Sunil
Organising Sponsor: OSSCube (My Company, Yay!)
Organising Partners: Routeguru, Pringoo, Innobuzz, Pictualize, Innovation R&D
Online Media Partners: BlogAdda.com
Youth Media Partners: YouthV.com
SMS Channel Partners: Indyarocks
TV Media Partners: Sahara Samay, NDTV, CNBC, IBN Live
Print Media Partners: Linux For You, Indian Express

For any more details, you can contact:
Mohak Prince, +91-9868669175,+91-9811230042
mohak.prince@gmail.com
http://twitter.com/mozcampdel
Kinshuk Sunil, +91 9910024895
kinshuk@osscamp.in
http://twitter.com/kinshuksunil

Mailing List: http://groups.google.com/group/mozillacampdelhi

Graphics for the event were made by the talented Kitty aka ‘Yadu’. Check some samples. In my attempt to show them in a cool way, I ended up showing them in a weird sideline way. Have a look at them, click on the image for a full view. connect with Yadu at his blog.You can also follow him at his Twitter.

MozillaCamp Delhi Banner by Yadu

MozillaCamp Delhi Standee by Yadu

MozillaCamp Delhi Web Gfx by Yadu

MozillaCamp Delhi Poster by Yadu

It feels really strange to realize that in those few minutes when I was at CCD, just after having felt the bombs; I was there, between two bombed sites, joking, trying to preserve my calm, while people were injured, while they were crying, trying to find their loved ones, while they were witnessing violence, gore, and death. It is a tragedy of unknown proportions…
A tragic end to a day full of twists and turns. Sadness and sorrow fills me as I write this. As I began my day, I had never thought how it will end. I had no clue at all.

September 13th, 2008. New Delhi
8.0 AM
It started with me rushing to my Ahok Vihar office for the monthly strategic review meetings. Had to work on the Marketing Divisions strategic intent and planning and put it across the board. Had just updated Open Coffee Club Delhi in the morning that I shall be attending the OCC Delhi Meet at Café Coffee Day, Outer Circle, CP later in the evening.

At around 12:40, between the series of meetings, got a mail at the OSScamp Community mailing list about the offline Drupal Meet up at Srijan Campus, Nehru Place. God! I was going to miss it as my schedule was already overflowing. I didn’t want to miss it anyway. But that’s what short notices do. No offence.

3.20 PM
Started my presentation. Discussed the various aspects of our brand building exercises, problems we are facing and possible solutions and the ones the marketing team would recommend. A fierce discussion on a new brand identity that needs created. A lot of discussion I wouldn’t want to bore you with. Finally, I was free by 4.15PM.

4.20 PM
I left a note for my boss that I am leaving for the OCC Delhi Meet at CP; an unusual first for me. At the time it felt the right thing to do even when I have never really cared about updating my boss with my every movement. It’s like we have an understanding at OSSCube that if we are doing quality work in stipulated time, it proves that I am a good judge of how to utilize my time and we don’t question each other. My boss doesn’t question me and I don’t question my team. That’s the way it goes. So it puzzled me: why I wanted to leave that note. Obviously, now I can speak a lot about my intuitions and premonitions and other such myths. But that wasn’t it, exactly. Not very easy to understand what it was.

4.35 PM
Trying to get an auto for CP has always been a tough job for me at Ashok Vihar. Finally I got one and I called Satpal to update him about my being late. The problem with unconferences is that people generally don’t take the deadlines very seriously. Or let’s put it correctly, diplomatically: we all are busy people with overflowing schedules; unconferences are just flexible enough to accept such situations. Needless to say, moron me was not the only late guy. But that’s what the game is all about – people coming.

5.11 PM
Some problem at Ramakrishna Ashram. The road was closed. Had to take a detour through Gole Market for CP. A thick jam there due to all the vehicles detouring.

5.20 PM
Finally reached CP. Café Coffee Day, Outer Circle. A few hundred meters from Central Park and Gopal Das Building.

(more…)

Johari window is a management concept which describes a person’s personality in terms of two variables: Attributes known to self and Attributes known to others. On the basis of these two, the personality of any individual is defined in terms of four specific windows:

1. Facade: Attributes known to self, not known to any one else
2. Arena: Attributes known to self, also known to others
3. Blind Spot: Attributes not known to self, but known to others
4. Unknown: Attributes known to no one.

It makes an excellent exercise to build one’s own Johari Window; it is also a useful tool for self-discovery and self-improvement. Read more about Johari Window.

During my graduation, we used to conduct a small exercise in class. On any given day, we would select a single student and for the next ten minutes the class would contemplate about him and then on a small chit of paper, write some positive and negative points about the individual. This is a primitive implementation of the Johari Window. Though an interesting exercise, it was not done on a regular basis and hardly beyond a frequency of about five times.

On a particular day, I was made subject to this exercise. Out of a class of 60, I got a total of 43 replies of which I have been able to preserve about 9 chits (it has been over 4 years since this exercise was conducted). It was quite true to what I was then, to an extent it is true for what I am today too. I share these 9 chits with you today (I have added my own remarks in parentheses with every chit):

1. The first chit lists my positive attributes as: “Very helpful during exams, down to earth, and helpful”; while my negative traits are: “shakl achchi nahi hai (does not have a pretty face), chashma bahut bada hai (wears glasses of a big frame), shave nahi karta (does not shave)”… Okay, a bad chit to start with…
2. The second chit does not see any negative in me, it says Kinshuk is “good in studies and hard working”.
3. The next chit also doesn’t see any negative traits in me, strangely it doesn’t see anything positive either. it simply states some of my behaviours. Kinshuk is, it says, a “man of principles and values, always talks of philosophy, and has a different perspective to life”. Hmm….
4. The next chit is a wise one. according to it, I am a “typical bihari, our own joker, and very intelligent”. That means either I have a good sense of humour, or an extremely pathetic sense of humour so as my follies make others laugh; silly me.
5. The next one stays true to the exercise, a bit. It says, my positive traits are: “punctual, intelligent, and helpful” and my negative traits are: “hairless (??), too outspoken, and always raising questions”. Now, outspoken-ness has always been a big problem of mine.
6. The next one again skips my negative traits (I love all my classmates). My positive traits, according to it are: “computer mechanic (must mean skilled in computers), always lives in technical world (trying to be geek), sentimental towards Bihar and —– (knowing my classmates, must be ‘girls’; how and why, escapes me), and motivator (a-ha!)”.
7. The seventh chit is critical of me and also tries to state facts about me. It says: Kinshuk is “argumentative, changes words very oftenly (I am quoting the exact wordings from the chits), is mad for something he himself doesn’t know, is very rational and logical, and wants to be a very true human being”.
8. The next one finds me praiseworthy: Kinshuk is “decent, helpful, soft spoken, good in studies, jolly, and small in size (err…)”.
9. The next one looks like a person who didn’t know me well, for they attempted to copy what the person writing the 8th chit had to say: Kinshuk is “decent, helpful, soft spoken, good in studies, and [some scribbling]“. Perhaps, they ran out of time.

I would recommend such activity to you but with some alterations. An effective Johari exercise should be conducted:

• In small groups. Don’t go for a huge sample of 60 students. Do it with a group of 4-7 friends. Repeat it with a number of such groups.
• Prefer people who know you well, but do not exclude people who have just got to know you. First impression, after all, is the last impression.
• Be honest and sincere. Take all criticism positively.
• Don’t try to suck up to people; Don’t try to impress them or be in their good books; Don’t try to be too harsh or over-critical. You are ruining the exercise.
• Document all results.

I found an online solution that simplifies this process to an extent. There is a web application developed by Kevan Davies (at Kevan.org) that provides you your own Johari Window. In fact, Kevan went a step further and created another application of Johari Window, which he calls Nohari Window. The first application is your Johari Window for your positive traits or Virtues. The Nohari Window is your Johari Window for Negative Traits.

You can find my Johari Window and Nohari Window at these individual locations.

Feel free to share your experiences with Johari Windows, suggested exercise, or anything else for that matter.